The Torchbearer

Winter 2007/Volume 46, No.1
The Alumni Information Source of the University of Tennessee
Picture of 2006 Panhellenic Council

Houses Are in the Future for Sororities

After years of wishing, UT sorority women are going to have houses. The new sorority village will be located at the southeast corner of Neyland Drive and Kingston Pike across from the university's Visitors Center.

Make Sorority House Gifts through UT

You can make a gift for your sorority house through UT and receive donor benefits. “Gifts to the building projects should be made through UT, and donors will receive the same benefits they receive for any gifts to UT,” said Martha Masengill of the UT Development Office.

You can make gifts online by going to www.utk.edu and clicking on “Support the University.” From there, choose “Knoxville campus” and then “Sororities.” You can also give by credit card by calling 865-974-2115. Gifts of stock are welcomed also, and of course you can send a check (address to UT Development office, 600 Andy Holt Tower, Knoxville, TN 37996, Attention: Martha Masengill).

“The groups hope to raise as much money as possible in order to not burden future members with large debts,” Masengill said. For most sororities, the difference in the total raised for each house and the cost of the facility will be financed through state bonds, which can be paid back over a period of years.

The village will consist of individual sorority houses. An earlier plan that would have centered on nonresidential sorority townhouses was dropped.

The facilities will be funded by sorority funds. Pro formas submitted by the chapters include a combination of private fundraising and mortgage agreements that would be paid through residential rent and chapter fees. Chapters are responsible for their own house design with each conforming to architectural guidelines from the university.

Fourteen of UT's 17 sorority chapters have submitted business pro formas and financial statements for individual facilities. Thirteen residential buildings and one non-residential building are planned on the approximately 21-acre site.

"The university is excited about the sorority village being built at this site," said Jeff Maples, senior associate vice chancellor for finance and administration. "This project along with our Visitors Center will make a beautiful new gateway to campus at Neyland Drive and Kingston Pike."

For more than 30 years, sorority women have had living space in two campus residence halls and meeting space in the Panhellenic building at Cumberland and 16th avenues. The number of women using the Panhellenic building now far exceeds its intended capacity, creating the need for new facilities.

Participation in UT sororities has grown significantly, climbing from 18 percent to 22 percent of women since 2001.